DAVID MURDOCK: Reading series books a pleasure, fiction or non-fiction

By David MurdockSpecial to The Times

Published: Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 6:24 p.m.

When I was a kid, I loved the Hardy Boys series of detective novels. Reading books in a series combines my love of reading and my love of collecting, so I’m sort of hooked on the concept. Although I’ve read lots of novels in series over the years, I’ve started a couple of new kinds of series lately.

As a teenager, I discovered C.S. Forester’s “Horatio Hornblower” series of novels about a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. I read through all of those books very quickly, and they remain a favorite. After C.S. Forester came James Clavell. I’ve read most of the books in his “Asia” series.

These novels differ from typical series fiction in that they are only loosely connected by mentions of characters and events from one novel to another.

My college years found me reading my first Tom Clancy novel — “The Hunt for Red October.” After that one, I started reading all the “Jack Ryan” series, stopping only when they diverged from reality to the point that I didn’t enjoy them anymore.

Along the line, I found lots of other series novels that I enjoyed. Some series I read all the way through, and some I stopped after a while. Frankly, I like to read the whole series, in order. I enjoy the unfolding of the storyline. I like completeness when it comes to series books.

That’s why my latest discoveries in series books have surprised me so. I’ve been reading two series that differ quite a bit from anything I’ve ever read.

The first big difference is that both are non-fiction. The next big difference is that the number of books in each series is huge, but the books themselves are not large at all.

The first is the series of titles on various aspects of military history from Osprey Publishing in Oxford, England. Some books feature a particular battle, some feature a particular unit, and some feature a particular

general. The titles I’ve bought usually highlight particular types of warships or warplanes.

They must have hundreds of titles, each usually running between 75 to 150 pages. In other words, they are short enough to be read in a sitting or two, yet detailed enough to engage the attention. All of them feature wonderful artwork, charts, maps and photographs.

Although I prefer complete series, I have no real desire to read all of the Osprey titles. Granted, I’ve bought all the ones on subjects that appeal to me. I think I have all their titles on the U.S. Navy throughout the age of sail, for example. However, I have no desire at all to read any of their books on the Napoleonic Wars. This series lets me drop in a read a few and then pop back out.

Last year, I stumbled across another great series of books published in Oxford — the “Very Short Introduction” series by Oxford University Press. This series of pocket-sized books features at least 300 titles on all sorts of subjects, mostly academic.

I started out with their book on the psychologist Carl Jung. I stumbled across it quite by accident while looking for a nice introduction to him after watching a movie about his life. That purchase led to another on Jung’s mentor, Sigmund Freud. That led to another book on the psychology of dreams, and so on. Pretty soon, I had gone through most of their titles dealing with psychology. Right now, I’m working on their titles on religion.

Like the Osprey series, these books are short enough to be read in a couple of evenings, yet they are detailed enough to engage the attention. That’s not surprising; after all, the title of the series announces clearly what the series is. A major difference between the Osprey books and the Very Short Introduction books, however, is that the latter are written by experts in the field, usually well-known professors.

Another key difference is that the Very Short Introductions have a “viewpoint.” Frankly, I have not always agreed with the conclusions that the authors draw, but the books are a nicely compact introduction to their subjects. On the other hand, the Osprey books are far more objective and concern themselves with “just the facts.” I might argue with their facts from time to time, but the authors in this series, by and large, do not draw large conclusions. They present information.

Both series are enjoyable, though, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy these series books far into the future. Both series are approachable to non-experts and easily read in a short time, which makes them perfect for my reading tastes.

When I want more information than can be found in a general reference book on a subject, I check to see if Osprey or Very Short Introductions have a book covering it. I can give both series my best recommendation for books — they’re not a waste of time.

David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College.

<p>When I was a kid, I loved the Hardy Boys series of detective novels. Reading books in a series combines my love of reading and my love of collecting, so I'm sort of hooked on the concept. Although I've read lots of novels in series over the years, I've started a couple of new kinds of series lately.</p><p>As a teenager, I discovered C.S. Forester's “Horatio Hornblower” series of novels about a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. I read through all of those books very quickly, and they remain a favorite. After C.S. Forester came James Clavell. I've read most of the books in his “Asia” series.</p><p>These novels differ from typical series fiction in that they are only loosely connected by mentions of characters and events from one novel to another.</p><p>My college years found me reading my first Tom Clancy novel — “The Hunt for Red October.” After that one, I started reading all the “Jack Ryan” series, stopping only when they diverged from reality to the point that I didn't enjoy them anymore.</p><p>Along the line, I found lots of other series novels that I enjoyed. Some series I read all the way through, and some I stopped after a while. Frankly, I like to read the whole series, in order. I enjoy the unfolding of the storyline. I like completeness when it comes to series books.</p><p>That's why my latest discoveries in series books have surprised me so. I've been reading two series that differ quite a bit from anything I've ever read.</p><p>The first big difference is that both are non-fiction. The next big difference is that the number of books in each series is huge, but the books themselves are not large at all.</p><p>The first is the series of titles on various aspects of military history from Osprey Publishing in Oxford, England. Some books feature a particular battle, some feature a particular unit, and some feature a particular</p><p>general. The titles I've bought usually highlight particular types of warships or warplanes.</p><p>They must have hundreds of titles, each usually running between 75 to 150 pages. In other words, they are short enough to be read in a sitting or two, yet detailed enough to engage the attention. All of them feature wonderful artwork, charts, maps and photographs. </p><p>Although I prefer complete series, I have no real desire to read all of the Osprey titles. Granted, I've bought all the ones on subjects that appeal to me. I think I have all their titles on the U.S. Navy throughout the age of sail, for example. However, I have no desire at all to read any of their books on the Napoleonic Wars. This series lets me drop in a read a few and then pop back out.</p><p>Last year, I stumbled across another great series of books published in Oxford — the “Very Short Introduction” series by Oxford University Press. This series of pocket-sized books features at least 300 titles on all sorts of subjects, mostly academic. </p><p>I started out with their book on the psychologist Carl Jung. I stumbled across it quite by accident while looking for a nice introduction to him after watching a movie about his life. That purchase led to another on Jung's mentor, Sigmund Freud. That led to another book on the psychology of dreams, and so on. Pretty soon, I had gone through most of their titles dealing with psychology. Right now, I'm working on their titles on religion.</p><p>Like the Osprey series, these books are short enough to be read in a couple of evenings, yet they are detailed enough to engage the attention. That's not surprising; after all, the title of the series announces clearly what the series is. A major difference between the Osprey books and the Very Short Introduction books, however, is that the latter are written by experts in the field, usually well-known professors. </p><p>Another key difference is that the Very Short Introductions have a “viewpoint.” Frankly, I have not always agreed with the conclusions that the authors draw, but the books are a nicely compact introduction to their subjects. On the other hand, the Osprey books are far more objective and concern themselves with “just the facts.” I might argue with their facts from time to time, but the authors in this series, by and large, do not draw large conclusions. They present information. </p><p>Both series are enjoyable, though, and I'm sure I'll enjoy these series books far into the future. Both series are approachable to non-experts and easily read in a short time, which makes them perfect for my reading tastes.</p><p>When I want more information than can be found in a general reference book on a subject, I check to see if Osprey or Very Short Introductions have a book covering it. I can give both series my best recommendation for books — they're not a waste of time.</p>
<p class="italic font120">David Murdock is an English instructor at Gadsden State Community College.</p>